calling from some city...

I was pretty tired when Scott woke me up at about 9:15 this morning. I immediately had to jump out of bed because we had some things to take care of before heading off for the day. First, Scott had great news: we were all set to go canyoning the next morning. They were able to take all 3 of us, so that worked out. I then went to reception to pick up my laundry. This hostel is so great: for only 5 euro, you can drop off your laundry at night and pick it up the next morning. It wasn’t finished yet, however, so in the meantime I got breakfast. The laundry was clean by 10 and we had to pack up and leave our room. Because we were extending our original stay, we had to check out of our current room and put our stuff in the luggage room and check into a new room later in the day. Sara and I would be staying in a 14 bed girls only dorm, so Scott had to sleep in a 5 bed mixed dorm.
After those logistics had been taken care of, it was time to decide what to do for the day- since we had planned on going canyoning, we didn’t have plans yet. Scott decided he wanted to go scuba diving, another activity offered by the hostel. After deliberation, Sara decided to go with them, and I decided against it. It sounded really cool, but I did not want to be on a boat for 5 hours and plus, my sinuses were still bothering me because of my cold. So it didn’t seem like a great idea for me to go along.
Scuba diving wasn’t until 2 pm, and it was only 11, so the three of us headed into the center of Nice to walk around and explore some more. Sara decided to sit on the beach for a while, and Scott and I went for a walk along the promendade, and ended at the pier. It was another beautiful day, and we stopped along the way to sit and stare out at the vast sea in front of us. We reached the end of the waterfront, and walked inland a bit. It was lunchtime, so Scott and I saw a supermarket and each bought bread and ham to make cheap, good sandwiches. We found a little area with benches to sit and eat. A homeless dog came up to us, and it was so cute and we felt bad, so we shared some of our ham. It was clearly hungry. His name became Jean Claude Simone and I wanted to pet him, but knew it was a bad idea. Anyways Sara came and joined us to sit and relax.
At about 1 I decided to head to the beach. The beach of Nice is a well known rocky beach, and rather than little pebbles, the rocks are huge. But once I laid my beach mat down (borrowed for free from the hostel), the rocks felt quite comfortable- they were smooth, and warm from the sun. So it wasn’t as uncomfortable as one might think (walking was a different story- you needed to have on sandals or water shoes because it was hot and difficult to walk on). I laid in the sun reading for about 3 hours before realizing I was thirsty and out of water.
After a quick stop at a refreshment stand, I decided to walk along the promenade (in the opposite direction Scott and I walked the previous day) and just enjoy the weather and people watching. The beach was packed so there was a lot of see. I walked for about a mile and a half before turning around and heading back to the main square of Nice. I got a gelato, which was very good but the cone fell apart in my hand so I made a mess and looked pretty ridiculous trying to eat it. Anyways after a little shopping I headed back to the hostel. I made a stop at the supermarket to pick up groceries for dinner, and then was able to check into my new room.
Scott and Sara got back to the hostel around 8 (about an hour after me) and Scott once again made a delicious dinner. We had the same thing (pasta with meat sauce) but it’s so good and I don’t think I could ever get sick of pasta. After all, in Italy my madre made pasta for every single meal.
I had spent the hour before Scott and Sara got to the hostel trying to figure out our travel plans. Since we were going canyoning the next morning, that didn’t really leave much time for Lyon. It didn’t make sense to take a late train to Lyon, and then pick up and leave the next morning (Saturday) for Paris. So it made sense to just cut out Lyon entirely. I did want to see the city, but I didn’t not want to sacrifice time in Paris and canyoning is a priority for us. So we won’t be going to Lyon.
Instead, after some deliberation/disagreement, Scott and Sara decided on taking a night train tomorrow evening from Nice, arriving in Paris on Saturday morning because this saves money. I can’t take a night train, though, because of my motion sickness- 12+ hours in a train would be brutal and I wouldn’t sleep a bit. So instead I am going to sleep in Nice tomorrow night, and then take a 6:35 train to Paris, arriving at noon. That’s by far my preferable option, so everything works out. We get to canyon, and have plenty of time in Paris. Lyon will have to wait for another trip.
Scott and I then made our changes to our Croatia itinerary and we’re really happy with the plan we have now for 10 days in Croatia. By then, it was nearly 1 am so time to get some sleep for a busy and fun adventure tomorrow!